GB 120

Returning to Sector 1 City felt like opening a book to its first page again.

Coincidentally, even the season was similar. The northern hemisphere summer was enduring the prolonged hot season that stretched miserably between the nearly vanished spring and autumn.

Rather than feeling welcomed by this place where he had spent so much time, though it wasn’t his hometown, it felt slightly familiar yet very strange, like a space seen only in dreams.

Most of those disembarking from the civilian ship, not a military vessel, were either people working at the base, those visiting family, or rarely, those who had joined after transferring ships due to maritime accidents. Although it was an artificial island, Haero sat dazed among passengers who were eagerly disembarking, longing for land.

“You need to disembark now. You’re the last passenger.”

Only after hearing the concerned and awkward voice directed at him did Haero stand up.

Fortunately, in a place with so many military personnel, there were sympathetic glances toward Haero with his arm in a bandage and splint, but no curiosity. If he had received excessive attention, he might have become seasick again. Though that wasn’t possible anymore.

After disembarking and trudging into the terminal from the port, he suddenly heard someone calling him from among the crowd.

“Haero!”

It was a very welcoming voice. The familiar voice belonged to Sun Ikhyun, who had just taken his first steps as a pilot after long trials.

“Sun Ikhyun hyung?”

Haero unconsciously murmured the term “hyung.” Only then did he startle awake, as if the word “hyung” was permitted for only one person in this world and he had violated that rule.

Sun Ikhyun pushed through the crowd and embraced Haero tightly. Only then did Haero notice Gu Yejin behind him. Now Colonel Gu, formerly Lieutenant Gu, was smiling bitterly.

“You’ve been through a lot.”

That single phrase summarized everything that had happened as if it were nothing significant. It wasn’t dismissive; rather, it compressed and organized a very dangerous and painful experience that could have held Haero back.

Only then could Haero smile. For the first time in a very long while.

“I’m back.”

As he embraced them in return, Haero felt like he had returned to the age when he first tried a hamburger.

Colonel Gu mentioned that he had personally volunteered to protect Haero. He joked that even though he was on leave and didn’t need to, he had volunteered, emphasizing that this wasn’t surveillance.

“It’s not because you’re suspected or anything, but in case you develop something like PTSD and have difficulties in daily life. You understand, right?”

But beneath the pretext of protection, there must have been surveillance reasons as well. Not from Colonel Gu, but from those above him who would view Haero with suspicion. He had deliberately neither removed his tattoo nor used a pseudonym. While ordinary soldiers or lower-ranking officers might not know, those higher up would certainly understand the relationship between Yoon Moo-hwa and himself, and the connection to those behind this kidnapping.

Resting his chin on his hand and gazing at the unchanged streets beyond the window, Haero suddenly raised his head on a familiar road.

“Would it be alright if I stop by the hospital briefly?”

Colonel Gu glanced at Haero through the rearview mirror, noticing he was now speaking completely in military style, and deliberately responded cheerfully.

“Why not? Let’s go.”

Entering the parking lot, Haero felt slightly nauseous. It really felt like motion sickness. He rubbed his lips and repeatedly swallowed.

“Is it because of your arm?”

“No.” Haero answered while keeping his gaze fixed outside the window. The stiff, soldier-like attitude he had briefly shown disappeared, and now there was a bit of wariness, just like when he first met them. “There’s something I need to confirm.”

‘What did hyung do to me? What did he implant in me?’

There was only one thing he could think of. What he had injected before Haero entered the military academy. He had suddenly become very ill and then recovered completely in an instant. On that day when Yoon Moo-hwa, who would take him to the hospital whenever he had even a slight fever, stubbornly nursed him at home. If there was something, it would have been then.

Sensing Haero’s mood, Colonel Gu and Sun Ikhyun exchanged glances and decided to wait in the lobby.

Haero immediately sought out the doctor whose name he remembered. Fortunately, he was still there.

He took advantage of his military medical officer status. Since the doctor had also served as a military medical officer, Haero pretended he wanted to meet a senior colleague for advice, which allowed him to meet during the doctor’s break time.

Standing at the door, he exhaled deeply before opening it. The doctor, who was munching on bread, turned his head. Seeing Haero, his eyes widened.

“You seem to remember me.”

Hiding his trembling, Haero asked calmly.

Though his voice was calm, he was actually very nervous.

The doctor fumbled with an “uh” without even having time to brush away the bread crumbs from his mouth, giving Haero enough time to take a seat.

Sitting down without permission, Haero asked directly before the doctor could collect himself, “Four years ago, no, it’s five years now, isn’t it? Five years ago, was what Yoon Moo-hwa injected into me a GPS nano chip?”

Without a clear answer, just the doctor’s flustered reaction of “uh, uh” was sufficient response.

Haero took out a notepad from his pocket and held it out. “Write down your name. I don’t care about the number either. I just need to be able to find it.”

“No, that’s a secret between Moo-hwa and me… No. Alright.”

The doctor, who had met countless people, was forced to yield when he saw how fiercely Haero’s pretty face contorted.

The doctor had already been assured that he bore no responsibility, and in fact, it was Haero’s natural right as the patient to know this information. If anything, he was reclaiming this right quite late.

The doctor might have thought Haero’s face contorted because he discovered a chip had been implanted in his body without his knowledge, but that wasn’t the case. Haero became upset because the doctor mentioned “a secret between Moo-hwa and me.” His anger wasn’t ordinary—it surged to an almost unbearable peak before suddenly dropping.

If he hadn’t received Yoon Moo-hwa’s socialization training, if he hadn’t emulated Yoon Moo-hwa’s indifferent and heartless attitude that rarely showed anger, he would have already caused an incident.

There might be aspects of Yoon Moo-hwa that he didn’t know. But the idea that these were shared with others was unbearable. Previously, he had been forced to accept his one-sided position, but not anymore. Although they were temporarily separated, Yoon Moo-hwa was his.

Haero repeatedly clenched and unclenched his fist as if grasping Yoon Moo-hwa’s artificial eye.

Meanwhile, the doctor wrote down the chip’s name and tossed the paper to Haero as if trying to shake off his discomfort.

“I have no purchase record or prescription record. What happened that day ended that day. Even if you find out about this now, what will you do? Even if you file a lawsuit, it would be against Yoon Moo-hwa, wouldn’t it?”

The intimidated doctor was talkative.

Haero stared at the scrawled writing, then neatly folded the paper and tucked it inside his clothing. “Why would I sue Yoon Moo-hwa? You have strange ideas.”

“What? Then suddenly barging in like this, what is this all about…?”

Haero tilted his head, looking at the doctor’s dumbfounded expression. “You said this was a secret between you and Yoon Moo-hwa, right?”

To the doctor who looked at him with a “So what?” expression, Haero bluntly said as if asking something very strange, “I came to take it away because I don’t want it to remain a secret between just the two of you.”

And because he was angry at Yoon Moo-hwa for creating such a secret.

Finally, his confused thoughts began to sort themselves out.

He wasn’t angry that Yoon Moo-hwa had secretly implanted something strange in his body. He was angry that Yoon Moo-hwa dared to keep secrets of his own.

Leaving the examination room that still showed “Resting” on the door light, Haero muttered.

“If he’s like this, I won’t respect him either.”

His muttering voice somehow seemed filled with elation.

✼✼✼

Four years were nothing compared to the past four weeks.

Yoon Moo-hwa truly felt like he was dying. He had endured with death-like patience and finally returned.

The mission was halted due to the severe damage to the warship, and summoned by headquarters, Yoon Moo-hwa went directly from the South African base to Jinhae headquarters before returning to the sector base at his own expense.

Yes, he returned.

Although he had never thought of this place as a hometown or a home to return to, this time the thought came naturally.

Unlike Haero, he disembarked from the ship more hurriedly than anyone else. The foghorn sounds like whale calls and the thick smell of ship fuel pierced his nose.

During this time, Yoon Moo-hwa had been unable to contact Haero. He was finally able to make contact after arriving at Jinhae headquarters, but there was no response. This turned the impending reunion into a time of terrible waiting.

It was the first time he had felt such anxiety because of someone. Moreover, their last conversation before parting was literally driving Yoon Moo-hwa insane.

He was anxious and repeatedly made mistakes.

But that too was now over. He had thought of countless apologies, created just as many threats, and devised just as many gentle yet illegal methods or rough and illegal methods to keep Haero confined.

He had no idea which he would use. To Yoon Moo-hwa, Haero was an unknown entity. Even pirates who had counterattacked using a military Lynx helicopter wouldn’t shake him so severely.

Haero made him weak. In that respect, he was a crew member unsuited for his ship, and yet the fact that Haero himself didn’t become weak at all made him so perfectly suited for the navy.

Yoon Moo-hwa was even jealous of the Haero inside Haero like this.

‘I’m such an improper adult.’

Heading toward Haero’s quarters, which Colonel Gu had bluntly informed him of, Yoon Moo-hwa anxiously repeated to himself.

‘Maybe because I’m doing all at once what I haven’t done before, I’m becoming particularly childish and narrow-minded.’

Even while considering himself pathetic, Yoon Moo-hwa was trying to contact Haero.

[Haero, where are you?] 

[I’m at Sector City.] 

[That’s right, Branch 1 is there. Where we first lived together.]

The deliberate feigning of weakness in the words “where we first lived together” was so craven it made him laugh bitterly.

[Are you very angry?] 

[Let’s talk when we meet.] 

[Listen to what I have to say.]

Finally, Yoon Moo-hwa slowly typed with the most ungraceful and powerless demeanor.

[I’m sorry for deceiving you.]

But still, there was no response from Haero.